This is the third album from Nemesis Sopor, a German black metal band.
Nemesis Sopor play atmospheric black metal with long songs and a cutting, second wave influence.
Opening with the 15 minute Untertan, Nemesis Sopor quickly lay their cards on the table as to what kind of band they aspire to be. I’m a big fan of this kind of atmospheric/post-black metal, and Nemesis Sopor prove early on that they have a lot to offer fans of the style.
The songs combine emotive distortion with no small amount of skilled melody, be this in leads that are traditionally used or via striking post-metal resplendence. The main blackened riffs alternate between conventional blackened arrangements and some less-typical ones; both are well-received by yours truly.
Dark blast beats and icy guitars are also added to by post-black metal elements, showing the band’s softer/lighter side with ease.
The mixture of these more introspective parts with the heavier howling distortion works well, allowing the songs to build up atmosphere and the band to deliver blackened music that’s rich in content, character, mood and feeling.
Vocally we’re mainly in croaked scream territory, although other styles appear here and there. All are well-performed.
The recording has a nice timbre to it, lending the music a conventionally frosted feeling, while also being clear and strong.
With almost an hour of material to digest on MMXL, Nemesis Sopor ably demonstrate that they have what it takes to create an emotive, compelling and textured atmospheric black metal album.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 